About Me

Friday, January 22, 2010

How to put on a roof, part 2

When one makes adjustments to steel, one gets to watch fireworks! I hope you enjoy the photos.

Today the issues continued. While there was some cursing at the things that have gone wrong, the steel installers handled the issues with calm and cool work. They should finish on Monday. I will hopefully be able to get out there after work to take pictures of how it turned out, so I can show you.

So today, they needed to shorten about half the remaining joists so they didn't overhang the front wall. They asked for a measurement from the steel designer. They weren't satisfied that the length was correct, so we measured the dimensions between walls on site, and discussed where I wanted the joists to end up, and the range of flexibility on it. We finaly decided on the proper measurement, and the cutting commenced. First they got out the gas powered saw with a cutoff wheel. Sparks were soon flying.

Cutting the one cord

Working on cutting a bar that runs between the top and bottom of the joist

Well the cutoff wheel needed to be replaced, and the one that was in the truck had some issue (I didn't ask). So then it was time for the cutting torch. This was even more fun to watch, and a heck of a lot quieter.

Like the proverbial hot knife through butter

Sending molten steel flying

As the ends were cut off, I was accumulating a collection of short steel joists.

Hmmm, really strong shelf supports?

As the ends were trimmed off, they were going through, and bending the end of the bar, back up in between the angle steel on the top cord. This put an end back on the joist that was the same form as what had been cut off. After they bent the bar into position, then it was time to weld it in place. Out came the arc welder.

Welding the bar in place

Hmmm, glare in the camera lens like the sun

This made the ends look like this:

Welded up, ready for one last trim

There was one last detail. They trimmed off the ends of the bars that were up past the top of the joist.

So now they could get the joists put up in place. They started with some of the joists that were part of the overhang.

First set layed for the front

Now some time lapse:

All the steel is now up there, and the crane has left.

Not quite ready for deer to walk on it

Oh, the next snag...well you see, the ends of the joists couldn't be placed in line on the center support wall. They needed to sit all the way across the top of the wall. This meant they needed to be offset along the wall.

Set next to one another on the center wall

That would not really be a problem, except that the plates on the front and back walls had been set, assuming that the joists would be in line, from front to back. Fortunately, the plates were wide enough, that they were still going to be able to weld the fronts of the joists to them. However, the end result was that they could not actually fit all 60 joists in the front half. From a weight support standpoint it should not be a problem. However, it does mean that dealing with closing in the ends of the home, could be a little more complicated. It also means I have a steel joist sitting on the front lawn.

After all the joists were positioned, they went through on the front joists, and added braces. They did this, since they are resting on the bottom cord, and are more likely to wobble, than the ones that are sitting on the top cords.

X shaped bracing between joists. These are just bolted to plates that were part of the joist.

I looked around at things, and seeing how the angle will look on the inside, I finally decided how I want the ceiling.

Looking at the slope

I decided there is enough slope, that we will run the ceiling parallel to the joists instead of flat. So there will be a slight slope to the ceiling. This should add an interesting character to the larger rooms.

With the joists up there, it can now be seen how the overhang looks.

Just like a bill on a baseball cap keeps the sun out of your eyes, the overhang, will keep the summer sun from pouring heat in through the south windows.

One of the installers knows someone who has a fully earth sheltered house. He warned me, that I may have to run the heat in the summer! Well, I hope my design works that well. It is far easier to deal with a house that is too cool in the summer, than one that needs cooling.

They will finish things up on Monday. There is just one more item I am concerned about. They will need to cut holes in the plates they are going to put on the ends, and I need to figure out exactly where those should go. Time to work with the drawings again so that I can get a measurement, or I may just take my tape measure out, and check some things at the top of the garage wall.